Hum, AAP aur Wo

Delhi has chosen its valentine and in what style! In a triangular love contest, Mr Kejriwal emerged as  a final winner, trouncing his opponents, the two biggest national parties of India. The 'Wo' (read BJP and Congress)  couldn't woo Delhi with their talks neither their gifts (read poll promises) could impress her. On the other hand, the gift kitty of AAP ( free wifi, cheap electricity) won the heart of Delhi and it was rewarded with an assured tenure of minimum 5 years. (Unless they choose to desert her again for someone else :( ( Lok Sabha  ) ) 

This was a historic election on many counts. Not just by the sheer number of seats won by AAP, but also because of approval of the new kind of "clean politics" by the people of Delhi. In itself, the words "clean" and "politics" seem to be oxymoron. How can politics be clean? Or what are clean people doing in politics? At least the history of electoral politics in India makes one wonder about this contradiction. Don't agree with me? Look at UP and Bihar.  

They say with great power comes great responsibility. And dear, by giving 95% seats to AAP, Delhiites have put a  huge responsibility on its still tender shoulders. A hope of the masses. From an autorickshaw driver who is intimidated by the policeman on the roads of capital, to a college going girl who is worried as the clock starts going past 7 pm, from a housewife who struggles to strike a balance between the monthly income and inflationary pressures, to a migrant from Bihar living in unauthorized colony in the outskirts of the city. Each of them have a very diverse expectation from AAP and its charismatic leader Mr. Kejriwal. And they have rejected all other options, trusting him with everything. This trust is a huge responsibility. Will the AAP be able to deliver its promises in the face of various challenges and difficulties that are bound to come in its way?

Without sounding cynical, I would like to note that the task at hand is really a daunting one. Ambitious programmes like installing 15 lakh CCTV cameras, opening 20 new colleges, 500 new schools, though announced with best of the intentions, will put great pressure on the already constrained treasury of Delhi. Another big problem will be reforming the whole bureaucratic machinery which has become too heavy and inefficient now. AAP and its politics are anti-establishment in their nature. Now the very establishment (or at least few of its elements) will try to make every effort in the form of rules and procedures so that AAP fails. It will be interesting to see how Mr Kejriwal pulls off these promises.

Nevertheless, history has anyways been created. So when Mr Kejriwal will be taking the oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi on this Valentine, the whole of Delhi will be watching with anticipation, hope and aspirations. AAP has captured the imagination of people, not only in India, but also people of other countries in South Asia and world who will be watching very closely their work. I hope that Mr Kejriwal and his new politics doesn't fail them, at least for the sake of  people of Delhi. 

Love shuv breakup shakeup

Siddharth took out the phone and almost sent a "Good Night" message to Ragini when his hands stopped. He thought something for a while, deleted the message and kept the phone back in the pocket. He no more had the right to send this message. She had broken up with him.

Breakups can be painful. Siddharth had realized this the hard way. Three months had passed since he last heard from Ragini and he only knew how this time had passed. It appears that the days become shorter when you are together and too lengthier when you are apart. And this wasn't a separation of few days. It was a separation of lifetime. A life was to change. He thought he would get over it. But there seemed no end to the agony.

Love is also a very strange thing. If you are blessed with it, the whole world seems so joyful and life seems so purposeful. It can do great things. It can motivate you to do something which you have never done before in life. It makes you a better person. You will go out of your way to do something just to please your lover. And that feeling of satisfaction and joy is greater than the feeling when you do something for yourself. Perhaps it can't be expressed, just felt.

But without it everything seems so lackluster and painful. Siddharth wondered how suddenly everything had changed. Activities he enjoyed earlier failed to excite him any further. Is a separation so powerful that it can change the way a person thinks, behaves? What has changed after all? Anyways he was in a long distance relationship with Ragini and he used to meet her in months. What then had changed which caused a feeling of hollowness?

Perhaps it is the very nature of love itself. Being in a relationship for 5-6 years, Ragini had become a habit of his life. He did not realize when  he became so much attached that he took this proximity for granted. His day started with wishing her a good morning as early as possible while still half asleep. Before she got ready for office and caught the bus, he would wish her day to be good. During the office hours, he tried to find out time to send her messages periodically, sometimes sending as silly messages as a plain "Hi". A day would end by a good night message.

All that had ended. A silly fight over a silly issue. Or so he thought. Perhaps it was much larger issue for her. Perhaps it was the question of principles for her. Too big to be forgiven. So big that the 6 years of relation seemed too small in front of it. A question of life or death maybe. Everything ended in a matter of minutes. Never to be resumed again.

Sometimes he woke up in the middle of night after a bad dream. But how he realized that the bad dream has come to life. He wants to shrug this as a nightmare but it doesn't leave him. And the worst thing about this condition was that he couldn't do anything to improve it. He felt so helpless.

Maybe even Ragini has the same feeling. Who knows if she did this out of some compulsion. Who knows if even she is suffering. But at the end of the day it doesnt affect anyone else. It's their lives which has changed. The world goes on as usual. Love demands courage and standing up sometime for the right things. For those who are lucky to understand this, it transforms their lives. And for those who are unlucky like Siddharth, it sucks the life out of them.